The invention relates to the technical field of apparatuses for dispensing paper wipes made of cellulose wadding, crxc3xaaped paper and such like materials intended more particularly for wiping the hands of users of toilet paper.
Very many types of automatically operating wiper apparatuses exist and the applicant has developed several apparatuses of this type capable of dispensing strips of folded or unfolded material. These apparatuses, which give satisfactory service, are of the type comprising a moulded plastic housing accommodating in its upper part a feed reel of wiping material, a drum containing a cutter device with a serrated blade, and a presser means for feeding the strip of paper towards the drum and tensioning the paper. The cutter blade is pivoted inside the drum and moved by engagement of a toothed spur connected to the pivot of the cutter blade, and engaging with a fixed rack means positioned internally on one of the sides of the housing. The end of this drum is also provided with a cocking mechanism with a crank and return spring as described and illustrated in patent FR 76.04664.
In order to address certain difficulties of cutting encountered with recycled paper, especially thick unfolded paper, or folded paper comprising several thicknesses on top of each other, the applicant has developed a special new arrangement of the drum by modifying the initial circular section of the drum by altering its external profile by the formation of an extra thickness around part of its periphery. This improvement has been described in particular in French patent No. 277770 filed on Apr. 24, 1998. This modification of the circular section permits an intervention in certain stages of the operation of the apparatus and of the dispensing and cutting of a strip of paper, in such a way that improved tension of the strip of material is possible. More particularly, in accordance with that French patent application, around an angular sector of the periphery of the drum is a region of increased thickness defined between the edge of the opening for the passage of the cutting blade and a line corresponding to the axial plane with its edge on the axis at the end of which the crank is linked and attached, enabling cocking of the drum in preparation for the cut, the said complementary region being in contact with the presser means which is generally retractable, in terms of its position, on a floating mounting so as to absorb the changes in the thickness of the drum during the period of tension on the pulled strip of paper followed by cutting of the said paper.
The patent WO 9724970 moreover discloses a dispensing apparatus in which the drum comprises, around an angular sector of its periphery, a region of increased thickness which is capable of coming into contact with the presser means.
Because of the region of increased thickness formed on the drum around a given angular sector corresponding to the period of cocking of the drum for the cut, the applicant has observed that the pressure on the strip of paper after the cut drops after the region of increased thickness has been passed. The applicant has therefore observed that, owing to the reaction of the spring of the crank for the cocking of the drum, the latter has a tendency to roll back counter to its normal direction of rotation, carrying with it the strip of paper in a movement of partial retraction, whereupon the said strip vanishes and can no longer be reached by the operator.
The applicant""s approach has therefore been to eliminate this problem by adding a device that controls the position of the drum inside the apparatus and prevents the said drum from turning backwards.
According to a first feature, the apparatus comprises a drum immobilizing device constructed in the form of a profiled hook pivoting freely on the shaft of the pressure roller, the said hook being constructed with a lower part forming an arm capable of being brought up to and against the belt in the profiled groove, and the end of the said arm having a projecting form for coming into contact with the belt and preventing the drum from rotating backwards once the strip of material is cut.
These features and others also will become clear in the remainder of the description.